The Pretender s03e14 Episode Script

[Blues.]
Hope you got fire insurance.
- Excuse me? - Dumpin' hot sauce on top of chili pepper gumbo? You might as well sit down on a blowtorch.
I like it hot.
- Mmm! - Whoo! Let me get you a glass of water.
Better yet why don't I reel in the garden hose from out back? [Cheering, Laughing.]
It's been a pleasure doin' business with you but I'm afraid it's past my bedtime now.
So I'll be on my way.
I don't appreciate being hustled.
[Man.]
Now, "hustle"is such a distasteful word.
Outplayed, yes.
Outsmarted, definitely.
But hustled? There's no gentlemen sportsmen anymore.
You all call me again sometime, all right? [Woman.]
Earl? - Billie.
- Who let that murderer in here? You know as well as I do, there's no stopping Eddie Fontenot.
Sometimes, it's better to see the devil than to guess where he is.
- Whoo! - He don't appreciate that.
He don't appreciate that.
This is for you, Marvin.
Give me that! You don't wanna shoot that man.
Girl, have you lost your mind? You don't point a gun at a man like Eddie Fontenot unless you plan to pull the trigger.
I did.
Damn it, Earl! Marvin was your brother.
You owe him better than this.
And you should mind your own business.
I appreciate you helpin' out.
Name's Earl Dupree.
Jarod Pepper.
Would you mind if I asked what happened to your brother? Oh.
It happened two weeks ago.
Marvin was the closet thing to a father that Billie knew.
She worshipped the man.
She was also the one that found his body out in the alley behind the club.
That must have been tough for her.
[Chuckles.]
Marvin was a good man.
Best pool player I ever saw.
He just hustled the wrong man.
The devil at the pool table.
His name is Eddie Fontenot.
Police could never prove that he pulled the trigger.
But- You think he did.
Marvin was lookin' for a big score.
Enough money to send Billie to a fancy drama school and get him off the road for good.
She was his life.
He just wanted to give her a different future.
So Eddie Fontenot invited Marvin over for a pool game.
A thousand dollars a rack.
- That's big money.
- Had to be.
The only black folks Eddie Fontenot let in his house come in the back door and carried a mop.
So what happened? Marvin beat him like a rented mule.
He was up 50 grand when I left to come back here to close up the-the club.
If you think Fontenot killed your brother, why do you allow him in your club? The club is all I got.
Eddie Fontenot could make one phone call and I'd wake up to a pile of cinders.
Don't you think it's time that somebody stopped him? There's only one way to get Eddie.
- How's that? - You a pool player, Mr.
Pepper? I am now.
[Man Narrating.]
There are Pretenders among us.
[Jarod.]
I was taken from my family.
Thirty-six hours and he's already demonstrating more talent than any of our others.
How many people died because of what I thought up? Since I broke out, I've spent every moment searching for my past.
[Miss Parker.]
He's a Pretender- A genius who can become anyone that he wants to be.
- The Centre wants him alive.
- Preferably.
[Miss Parker.]
He defends the weak and abused.
Life's a gift.
- You a doctor? - I am today.
- [Miss Parker.]
Daddy.
- Huh? Where have you been? I've left messages for you all week.
Brigitte and I stole away to Aruba.
Real romantic.
Your mother will always be the first love of my life.
She gave me you and your brother.
- Nobody can replace that.
- She'll try.
- A second family of Parkers.
- She can't have children.
How can you be sure about that? I don't land in an airport without knowing the conditions.
I had her medical records checked.
Sweetheart, at my age, I certainly don't want a baby.
Besides, I already got the best.
Hmm? Oh, which reminds me.
- I need a favor.
- A favor? We're planning a little family get-together tomorrow night.
You know, dinner, drinks, nothing fancy.
- It sounds nice.
- Yeah.
The new floors won't be finished, so I thought we could have it at your place.
Daddy, I'm not prepared to host.
It'll only be for family.
Ah, bring that gentleman friend of yours.
What's his name? - Thomas? - Yeah.
About time I got to know the fellow that's wooing my little girl, don't you think? - Daddy- - 8.
00 sharp.
Oh, and easy on the dairy.
And I do love you so.
- [Door Closes.]
- Oh, God.
It's no fancy hotel, but it's warm and it's clean.
Well, I appreciate the hospitality.
[Earl.]
People didn't always make it easy for those two.
- But through good times and bad, Marvin loved that little girl.
- It shows.
[Woman Singing, Indistinct.]
That's her now.
Got a voice of serenity and a heart of turmoil.
When you remember me I hope it makes you smile [Humming.]
You sing like an angel.
You still here? Mr.
Pepper gonna be stayin' with us for a while.
You mind your manners now.
What do you really want here, Mr.
Pepper? I don't want anything.
And my name is Jarod.
Earl said that Marvin was like a father to you.
What happened to your real family? My daddy died in a car accident when I was a baby.
Mama got sick and passed a few years later.
There was no other family.
Marvin was their best friend, so he adopted me.
It was lucky for you.
See this picture? I'd just gotten the lead in My Fair Lady at my high school which was a big deal 'cause I was only a sophomore.
Marvin stands up in the club and tells everybody how proud he is of me.
Uh, listen up, ladies and gentlemen.
My little Billie is gonna play the lead in her high school play.
- You should hear this girl sing.
- [Scattered Applause.]
She's got her mother's golden voice.
I'm so proud of you, Billie.
He always wanted me to become a singer, just like my mother.
But that dream died in the alley, right along with Marvin.
A dream can only die if the dreamer allows it to.
Billie, I'd like to help you find the truth behind Marvin's killing.
How do you plan to do that? If I can hustle my way into Eddie Fontenot's world like Marvin did maybe I can find some evidence that would connect him to the killing.
You play pool? Well, I'm familiar with the architectural theory of dynamic symmetry as well as Descartes' theory of coordinate geometry, um, lines, angles.
- You ever chalk a cue? - Excuse me? You can put away your math books, Mr.
Pepper.
They may help you learn how to play pool, but they can't make you a pool player.
No.
But you can.
Me? Do it for Marvin.
All right.
Let's pick you out a cue.
Okay.
That's for you.
See? Good.
Okay.
[Blows.]
[Blows.]
Fingers.
Great.
Now turn your hips into it and explode into the shot.
- Uh- - Not bad.
I'll-I'll get it.
It's not the shot you're hittin' you need to think about.
It's the one three strokes ahead.
Nine on the side.
Remember, pool is a mind game.
Make your opponent think about you, and his game is lost.
Can you do that? You tell me.
Pleasure doing business with you, sir.
Excuse me? Mr.
Fontenot would like to have a drink with you.
Mr.
Pepper.
Or may I call you Jarod? - You know my name? - I make it my business to know interestin' people.
You wanted to see me? Well, I noticed that you shoot a particularly fine game of pool and I was certain that you could appreciate this.
Richard Black, custom.
Elephant ivory casing, golden diamond inlays.
Cost me $50,000.
Does it sink the ball for you too? Oh, touché.
Now, would you care to indulge me in a game? Strictly for sport, of course.
- I never play for sport.
- Ah.
Is she a friend of yours? Oh, no.
Poor child was raised by a bad element.
- A bad element? - Primal, if you get my meaning.
It so happens one of this element got himself killed, and rumor has it she blames me.
- Now please, join us.
- No, thank you.
He's a good pool player.
[Martin Luther King Jr.
.]
Be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream- - [Applause.]
- [King Continues.]
[Young Jarod.]
Why do people hate other people because of the color of their skin? [Young Sydney.]
I don't know, Jarod.
It's called racism.
[Young Jarod.]
Why do I have to look at this? It's important that you learn what's wrong in the world, as well as what's right.
I have a dream that one day- Are they taught to do this? In some ways, yes.
Jarod, there is no simple solution to racism.
But there is.
Stop hating.
[Young Sydney.]
I wish it were that easy.
It takes time and compassion.
Do you understand this, Jarod? - [Crowd Cheering.]
- I understand it.
But I can't accept it.
[King.]
I have a dream that one day, every valley shall be exalted- [Young Jarod.]
I'll never accept it.
[Sydney's Voice.]
This anxiety over your father is understandable, Miss Parker.
Symbolically speaking, Bridget is taking your mother's position.
No she's not.
[Sam Clears Throat.]
- I, uh- - Yes? I gained access to Brigitte's house like you asked.
You broke in? And? Her medical records.
Your father would not be happy to know you had his fiancée's house burglarized.
Then let's not tell him.
- Broots? - [Sighs.]
Dissect this file and leave no pap smear unturned.
Sam! [Earl's Voice.]
Marvin was the closest thing to a father Billie ever knew.
- She worshipped that man.
- [Computer Beeps.]
Marvin Dupree wasn't like a father to you, Billie.
[Sighs.]
He was your father.
Jarod.
Where'd you come from? That's a question I should ask Billie.
The problem is, she won't be able to answer me.
Why haven't you told her that Marvin was her real father? - What are you talkin' about? - I found her birth records, Earl.
Why did your brother keep this a secret from her? He had his reasons.
She has a right to know who she is.
Billie's mother, Janis, she sang at the club here.
Had a voice like honey.
She was a real nice lady.
She was also white.
When Marvin met her, she was engaged to a local boy.
But they fell for one another and she took off with my brother a few days before the weddin'.
After a year, Billie was born.
Now, when Janis's family realized she had had Marvin's child they told her take her black baby and never come back.
When Janis took sick she made Marvin promise that he would never tell Billie that he was her father.
She thought that that would make the world less cruel to Billie if they thought that Marvin was a friend.
So he lied to her to protect her.
Um- Uh, drinks first, then dinner.
Then I'll climb up to the top of the roof and jump headfirst into the driveway.
- Ma'am? - It's just an old family tradition.
Relax, would you? Your father and I are gonna get along just swell.
S-S-Swell? Oh, God.
This is never gonna work.
[Doorbell Rings.]
Just- [Exhales.]
Okay? Incredible.
[Doorbell Rings.]
- Angel.
- Daddy.
- May we come in? - Mmm.
Well, looks like you're already in.
We appreciate you hosting this little shindig.
Damn floors.
You know how slow construction workers can be.
Morons with hammers.
- Bridget.
- Brigitte.
- Whatever.
Daddy, this is Thomas.
- The construction moron.
Don't worry.
I left my hammer in my other outfit.
[Clears Throat.]
Heard a lot about you, son.
Well, don't believe everything that you hear.
Like what? [Knocking.]
Oh, I hope I'm not late.
- Tommy, this is my brother Lyle.
- Nice to meet you.
So you're the lucky guy who won my sister's heart.
Yeah.
Yeah, I'm the lucky guy.
What happened to your thumb? Who needs a drink? [Chuckling.]
[Fontenot's Voice.]
I hope I'm not interruptin'.
I was hopin' you and me and Mr.
Black here could play some pool.
- I already told you, I don't play for sport.
- Play for sport.
I remember.
Nine ball.
Let's play some pool.
[Jarod.]
Nine in the corner pocket, and your 500 in mine.
Well, that's pool, isn't it, Mr.
Fontenot? Sometimes the balls roll for you; sometimes they don't.
Let me buy you dinner.
[Fontenot.]
I have a better idea.
I propose a rematch, say, later tonight at my place.
We can bump the action.
A thousand a game.
Unless that's too rich for your blood.
Well, I'll be playing with your money, of course.
So if you can stand the embarrassment, I can.
[Chuckles.]
My driver will pick you up at 8:00.
No, thank you.
I'd rather walk.
Oh, you don't wanna walk alone in this kind of neighborhood.
You wouldn't wanna end up dead next to a Dumpster like Marvin Dupree.
Would he, Earl? Patience, Earl.
Patience.
- [Clears Throat.]
- [Clinks Glass.]
Family and friend Brigitte and I have, uh, set our wedding date.
- This weekend.
- Outstanding.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
Daddy, um, why are you rushing into this? Well, it's because we are in love.
[Mr.
Parker.]
Time goes by very quickly.
Mustn't waste a minute of it.
A toast.
To the happy couple.
- Thank you.
I'll drink to that.
- Cheers.
- [Cell Phone Ringing.]
- Excuse me.
Mmm.
[Exhales.]
What? - I finished Brigitte's medical file.
- And? Well, it's- A lot of it's gynecological.
- It's kind of embarrassing to talk about.
- This ain't junior high, Broots.
We're adults.
Talk to me.
Well, it all looks legit.
A Dr.
Noah Lindquist diagnosed her as infertile due to complications arising from endometriosis.
- But? - I did some checking.
And according to the A.
M.
A.
, there is no Dr.
Noah Lindquist practicing medicine in the United States or anywhere for that matter.
She faked it all.
He doesn't exist and neither does her infertility.
[Broots.]
What's she up to, Miss Parker? - I don't know.
- [Mr.
Parker.]
Come on, angel.
It's time for charades.
[Sighs.]
I thought the dinner party from hell would never end.
I made somethin'to help you sleep.
Well, I thought that tonight went, uh, pretty well.
Nobody died.
And Bridget seems like a-a nice person and she makes your father happy.
It's so hard to watch him throw his life away like this.
Then don't.
If it's making you this miserable, maybe you should stop spending time with them.
They're my family.
Maybe you should think about starting a new one.
[Earl's Voice.]
She was also the one that found his body out in the alley behind the club.
[Billie's Voice.]
Marvin stands up at the club and tells everybody how proud he is of me.
But that dream died in the alley along with him.
[Groaning.]
[Man.]
Let's see him sink a nine ball now.
- [Jarod.]
Where am I? - [Fontenot.]
You're in my home.
I did warn you about that neighborhood.
Good thing my driver happened by when he did.
You might have been killed.
I count my blessings.
Good for you.
Let's play some pool.
[Chuckling.]
A valiant attempt.
But as Hamlet said "As he was valiant, I honor him.
As he was ambitious, I slew him.
" Actually, Brutus said that trying to justify killing Julius Caesar.
But then he discovered there really is no justification for cold-blooded murder.
So he killed himself.
Well, I'm sure if Brutus thought a little harder he would have come up with a better solution.
It doesn't take a genius to know that we live in a world where only the truly fit can survive.
Meaning that the unfit should be eliminated, like Marvin Dupree? Marvin didn't know his place, so he paid the price.
And what exactly was his place? Why, in the back of the bus, of course.
[Young Jarod's Voice.]
I'll never accept it.
- [Young Sydney's Voice.]
It's called racism.
- I'll never accept it.
I believe you owe me another thousand dollars.
- Are you doing some remodeling? - Pardon me? I smell fresh paint.
Looks like you've just laid down a brand-new carpet.
I like to keep my home presentable for special guests such as yourself.
Hmm.
- Another game? - Not tonight.
Well, like you said, Mr.
Pepper: Sometimes the balls roll your way; sometimes they don't.
Why don't we play again tomorrow when both my arms are working? Unless, of course, you don't like the odds.
- It's a date.
- Good.
Tomorrow afternoon at Earl's.
Now if you don't mind, I'd like to use your restroom.
By all means.
It's on your left, down the hall.
Well, that's not your average scrapbook.
Well, that's not your average scrapbook.
After Marvin was killed I collected every scrap of information I could on Fontenot tryin' to figure out what would possess a man to murder out of pure hate.
I found the answer in an old Huntsville newspaper.
I've seen that picture.
It's in a frame in Fontenot's poolroom.
[Earl.]
Fontenot's daddy.
White sheets, burnin'crosses.
Fontenot's father was a member of the Ku Klux Klan.
Accordin' to people who would know.
I paid a visit to Fontenot's house tonight.
He has two newly patched bullet holes in his wall and he laid down a brand-new carpet.
- To cover up Marvin's blood? - He was trying to cover up something.
But he's not the only one.
You told me that Billie's mother left her fiancé a few days before the wedding and ran off with Marvin.
That's right.
You left out a pretty important detail from that story.
You told me that Marvin was Billie's father but you didn't tell me Eddie Fontenot was the fiancé.
Marvin was my daddy? - [Jarod.]
Billie.
- Marvin was my daddy.
- Billie- - No.
No more lies.
- [Classical.]
- [Chattering.]
Ah.
I, uh- I haven't been this nervous since the day you were born.
Uh, you and your brother.
- Daddy? - Huh? There's something I need to tell you about Brigitte.
I know you have issues with her.
But people change.
Look at us, all dressed up on my wedding day.
I'm happier now than I've been in a long, long time.
Please try to be happy for me, angel.
Huh? - God, you're pretty.
- So there you are.
- Mmm.
- Time to go.
Well, I can't keep my bride waiting, now can I? Okay.
[Earl.]
Five games forJarod.
Five games for Fontenot.
Run these, Jarod, and the match is yours.
[Chuckles.]
You haven't run the table all day, Mr.
Pepper.
I can practically feel that $50,000 in my pocket now.
You know, I'm beginning to think that 50,000 isn't enough.
Maybe we should put some more on the line.
$50,000 is not enough for you? I wasn't talking about money.
I was talking about something far more costly like, uh, honor.
What? That is, after all, what you lost to Marvin Dupree, isn't it? I don't know what the hell you are talkin' about, sir.
It finally occurred to me that losing a game of pool or being hustled by Marvin Dupree for a few thousand dollars wasn't why you killed him.
No, you killed him because of the color of his skin.
You just couldn't keep that hatred locked down anymore, could you? Who the hell are you? Powerful hatred, even from a bigot like yourself knowing that your woman ran off with a black man.
You don't know anythin' about this.
Oh, I do know that pictures never lie.
Billie's mother was supposed to be your wife before she ran off with Marvin Dupree, that is.
And then there was that notorious pool game between you and Marvin when you lost your misguided honor right there in your daddy's house.
That must have been more than you could stand.
That boy deserved what he got.
He was a man.
What he got was your fiancée.
I think they make a fine-looking couple.
Don't you? Let's-Let's go.
Well, don't you? - Billie, what are you doing? - Well, don't you? - I'm waitin' for an answer, Fontenot.
- [Fires Gun.]
Yes.
A handsome couple.
- Billie, don't do this! - Stay out of it, Jarod! - Billie, he's right.
- You too, Earl.
- Not even God can save him now.
- [Jarod.]
Billie, please.
Tell me how you did it- how you murdered my father in cold blood.
She's crazy.
- Tell me! - Talk to her! I wanna hear you say it, now! All right! Yes, yes! I killed him! I killed Marvin! And I'd kill the little animal again if I could.
Get out of the way, Jarod.
Please.
Please, get- Would your father want you to do this? End the hate here, Billie.
[Man.]
Dearly beloved [Man.]
Dearly beloved we are gathered here to join this couple in the bonds of holy matrimony.
Do you, Brigitte, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health till death do you part? I do.
And do you, uh- I'm sorry.
Uh- [Clears Throat.]
Parker.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Uh, do you, uh, Mr.
Parker take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health - till death do you part? - I do.
Uh, the ring, please? If anyone has any objections to the union of these two people speak now, or forever hold your peace.
By the powers vested in me by the great state of Delaware I hereby pronounce you husband and wife.
You may kiss the bride.
[Laughing.]
[Classical.]
Congratulations, Mrs.
Parker.
I wish you and your husband the very best.
Thank you, Mr.
Raines.
I intend to do everything in my power to make his golden years memorable.
I know I'll remember them.
- Ah.
- Count on it.
I think I'll get some cake.
Beautiful ceremony, wasn't it? The virgin veil was a nice touch.
[Chuckles.]
Do you need a little motherly advice? Now that you mention it, let's talk birth control as in the kind Dr.
Noah Lindquist provided for you.
You do remember him, don't you? Then again, maybe you don't, considering he doesn't exist.
Someone's been a busy little beaver.
Misinformed, but busy.
You lied to my father about being infertile.
You get yourself pregnant, and that makes it real difficult to trim you off the family tree.
My husband and I have a very trusting relationship.
Just answer me this.
What kind of a beast uses the miracle of birth to cement her own position in life? A baby with your father would be a child of love.
Nothing more, nothing less.
You were right about one thing though.
If there were to be a child it would truly be a miracle.
Thank you.
I wanna thank you all for comin'out on this cold Memphis night.
We got a special treat for you this evening.
I can't do this.
Of course you can.
Just keep your father close to your heart.
You'll be just fine.
Please, put your hands together and give a warm welcome to Miss Billie Dupree.
- [Applause.]
- Go get 'em.
Whoo! [Piano.]
I'd like to dedicate this song to my father, Marvin Dupree and to the man who helped me find him.
Thank you, Jarod.
There's a somebody I'm longing to see I hope that he Turns out to be Someone who'll watch Over me Where is that someone To watch over me [Footsteps.]